


Confrontation long overdue

by dont_hate_me01



Series: SEAL Team Week 2020 [3]
Category: SEAL Team (TV)
Genre: Clay Spenser Whump, Day #5 - Episode Fix, Day #6 - Confronting Ash, Gen, SEAL Team (TV) Week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:22:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22292521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dont_hate_me01/pseuds/dont_hate_me01
Summary: After a confrontation with Ash, Clay decides that he will not re-enlist as he is not good enough for DEVRGRU or Bravo Team. His brothers, do not agree with him, and they realize it is time to tell Ash Spenser how special his only son is. Unfortunately, some plots and secrets come to light that may bring Clay’s career to an end, even if he does decide to re-enlist.
Series: SEAL Team Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1601005
Comments: 26
Kudos: 134





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> **AN 1:** This is a follow up on my story _Sticks and Stones..._ , however, this story can be read without reading that one first.
> 
>  **AN 2:** To, [jesco0307](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jesco0307). My knight in shining armor! Thank you again for helping out. 💜💜
> 
>  **AN 3:** This story takes place between Episode 0205 - Say again your last, and Episode 0212 - Things not seen.
> 
>  **AN 4:** This is a one shot, but due to the length, I divided it into two parts.

**Part I**

**Naval Base: Virginia Beach**

Sonny slammed his fist against the side of the cage and grunted in pain as the shock vibrated through his fist straight up his arm.

“What the fuck?” Trent asked, shocked even as he made his way over to where Sonny stood cradling his hand.

Sonny shook as he tried to get his temper under control. He ignored Trent’s question and looked around for his teammates. “Where’s Jason, Ray and Brock?”

“Jace and Ray have a meeting with Blackburn, and Brock went for a run with Cerb,” Trent answered as he took Sonny’s hand in his. He hissed as he examined the damage. “You’ll need to go to the infirmary for x-rays. Pretty sure you’ve busted it this time around.”

“Fuck,” Sonny cursed.

“What’s got you so riled up in any case? It’s been a while since you tried to take a cage down with your fists.” Trent inquired as he made his way back to his own cage to retrieve an instant cold pack. It would help curb the swelling that already made Sonny’s fingers appear puffy.

Sonny growled. “Don’t have the stomach to repeat it twice. Let’s get them, they need to hear this shit.”

Trent picked up his phone and text Brock. “I’m not sure it would be appreciated if we interrupt the meeting.”

“I don’t give a damn about the fucking meeting, Trent.”

Trent cocked his head. “This about Clay?”

Sonny growled again and glared at his brother.

“What has he done now?”

“The Kid?” Sonny shook his head and snorted. “He didn’t do anything wrong.” Silently he added, _‘not yet’_. He had no idea on how long Clay would last before he did something really stupid. That’s why he had to talk to the team.

“But it is about him?” Trent pushed.

“Damn it, Trent, just get the fucking team together.” Sonny yelled out of frustration, but immediately held up his hand. “Sorry, didn’t mean to snap at you like that.”

Trent nodded wordlessly. “I’ll go and see if I can get hold of Jason and Ray. You stay put.” He didn’t even add that Sonny needed to go to the infirmary. He knew his brother; Sonny wouldn’t budge until he told the team what had him so hot under the collar. Trent got a grunt as an answer as he made his way out of the team room and nearly walked straight into Jason.

“How do you do that?” He asked as he saw the look on Jason’s face. Ray stood at their lead’s shoulder.

“Years of practice,” Jason responded. “Sonny in there?”

“Yup.” Trent moved to the side and let his brothers enter. When he heard his name called, he looked over his shoulder and watched as Brock with Cerberus at his side made their way over to him.

“What’s going on?” Brock asked. His face was covered with a sheen of sweat.

“Not sure, Sonny didn’t want to tell me, not unless the team is all together.”

Brock cocked his head. “This about Clay?”

“Does everyone know, except me?” Trent threw his arms in the air.

Brock grinned. “I don’t know anything, but I do know Sonny. If he’s calling a meeting, it’s most likely about the kid.”

Trent hummed in agreement. “Let’s find out.” He entered the team room with Brock and Cerberus at his heels. He came to a halt in the middle of the room. The tension was so thick you could feel it with a stick.

“Want to tell us what you know?” Jason addressed Sonny as he inspected his hand. He’d seen the dent in the cage and knew immediately what the Texan had done.

Sonny hissed as Jason replaced the cold pack a bit too roughly, but he nodded at the same time. He took a seat on the couch and leaned back. Suddenly he felt bone tired. He looked at the rest of the team that gathered around him. He opened his mouth, closed it again, shifted around in his seat but at the same time he had no idea where to start.

“Spit it out, Sonny,” Jason instructed as he reached out and tapped the other man’s knee.

“Clay wants out of Bravo team.” Sonny stared at Jason and saw the look that passed between him and Ray.

Both Brock and Trent had jumped to their feet, and Cerberus growled.

“That’s what the meeting was about.” Sonny pinned Jason with his eyes. His words stopped Brock and Trent from where they were objecting to the whole idea of Clay leaving the team.

“Jason?” Brock asked softly as their team lead remained silent.

Jason nodded and lowered his head.

“What the fuck!” Trent matched Cerb’s growl.

Jason ignored the exclamation from Trent as he looked at Sonny. “Do you know why?”

“Yeah, I do.” Sonny balled his fists and hissed as he’d forgotten about the injured one.

“What’s going on?” Brock had pulled Trent down, both of them seated on the edge of the couch.

“Kid thinks he’s not good enough,” Sonny replied as he jumped to his feet. He swatted Jason’s hand away as his brother tried to stop him. He stormed over to the fridge, yanked the door open and pulled out a beer. For a moment he stood with his head in the fridge before he reached for another four bottles. Sonny placed them all on the counter and looked at his teammates. He was surprised to find all of them staring at him in what appeared to be shock.

Jason let out a sigh and dragged his hand across his face. Ray lowered his head and closed his eyes. Sonny wasn’t sure if the man was praying, or not. Trent had bitten down on his own fist, while Brock held Cerb to his chest.

“Is this from what happened during the last mission?” Ray was the one who broke the silence. He indicated to the beers on the counter. “Bring that over here, we need it.”

The team shuddered at Ray’s question. Their last mission was one big cluster fuck, but there was no blame on Clay’s shoulders for what went wrong. Unfortunately, it seemed like their youngest felt he was to blame. They’d all taken the failure hard, especially Clay, but they’d thought he’d get over it. Apparently, they all thought wrong.

Sonny nodded, grabbed the bottles and handed them out before he took his own seat again. He took a deep swallow of the beer. “He’s of the opinion that if he’d run harder to get to the house, he would’ve been in time to do something. Said he should’ve been able to take the shot to rid the world of our HVT before he killed that child.”

“We went through this in the debrief. There was nothing he could’ve done better. We were too far away from the target house when we landed, with the wind against us, he heard the helo, and it gave that piece of shit more than enough time to kill the hostages even before we could offload.” Jason sounded tired.

“How did you get him to talk?” Ray inquired. He didn’t think that Clay would share this information with Sonny freely.

“Got him drunk. Last night I had him over at my place and he drank like a fish.”

Jason cringed. For Sonny to get Clay drunk at his place meant they’d gone big. It was then a surprise that Sonny didn’t look hungover. “What happened?”

“Well, he drank all of my expensive whiskey and tequila without saying a word. When he was near passing out, I asked him what had crawled up his ass.” Sonny looked down at his feet. When he looked up again, his eyes had teared up.

“Told me he was sorry that he got Adam killed. That he’s sorry about our last mission, and that he knows he’s a disgrace to the team, but that he won’t be on it for long. Told me he’ll be out of our hair ASAP.”

“Where the fuck does this come from!” Brock had enough. He’d jumped to his feet and paced the room. Cerberus whined and placed his head on Trent’s knee.

“Ash,” Sonny whispered.

“Ash?” Ray frowned. He hadn’t been aware that Clay’s father was in the vicinity.

“Clay met up with him last week for drinks.”

“You think that son of a bitch said something to Clay?” Jason wanted to pull his hair from his head.

“He told Clay that we must have finally realized that we’ve made a mistake in drafting him.” Sonny rose off the couch. He had his empty beer bottle in his hand. He looked at his brothers. “Ash told him that he was a disgrace to the brotherhood.”

“No wonder the man got PNG’d. It was definitely not because of his fucking book.”

“What are we going to do?” Brock had taken his seat again and scratched Cerberus behind the ears.

“Convince him otherwise,” Sonny replied.

Brock and Trent nodded.

“Are you not in agreement, Ray?” Sonny growled as he realized that it seemed Ray wasn’t on the same page as them.

Jason placed his hand on Sonny’s shoulder as he looked at Ray.

“Clay already spoke to Harrington yesterday morning. He indicated that he wanted off Bravo team for the remainder of his enlistment. He said he’ll work with the support teams until the end.” Ray supplied the information with his head bowed.

“He’s not going to re-enlist?” They all knew Clay’s re-enlistment date was in a few months. When they first spoke about the upcoming date, Clay told them that unless he died before then, he was signing up for another term. Nothing was going to keep him away from his life as a SEAL.

Jason shook his head. “Ray and I convinced the captain and Eric to give us a chance to talk to Clay before they called him in for a second meeting. They gave us two days.”

“We need to get Clay to realize that he’s the best brother anyone could ask for.” Brock spoke up.

“We need to kill Ash.”

Five heads turned to Sonny. All four humans and the dog knew that tone of voice Sonny used. It meant business. He met their stares, head on. “What?” He shrugged, “Okay, then maybe just put him in hospital, or maim him for life?”

He got four nods and one huff as an answer. “Good, let’s go.” He rubbed his hands together hand cursed as he jolted his injured hand.

“Not so fast, Sonny. You need to get that hand sorted out.” Jason held up his hands when his 3IC wanted to object. “Don’t make me order you.” When Sonny nodded, he turned to Trent.

“Go with him and keep an eye on him.”

“Roger that, Boss.” Trent moved towards Sonny.

“I don’t need a babysitter.”

“You could’ve fooled me,” Trent responded with a grin.

“What about Clay?” Brock asked.

“Where is he?” Jason asked Sonny.

“Dropped him off at his apartment. Was still drunk when I put him to bed.”

Jason nodded. “Brock, you and Cerb go to Clay’s place. Keep him there for the remainder of today. Sonny and Trent will meet up with you after Sonny got that hand checked out.”

“What are you going to do?” Trent asked as he activated a new cold pack for Sonny’s busted hand.

“We’re going to find out why Ash is here, and where he’s staying.”

“You will not go and pay him a visit without us,” Sonny grumbled.

“We will not, I promise.” Jason had a feeling Ray wanted to object, but if they wanted Ash to get out of Clay’s life, they had to confront the man as a team. A plan formed in the back of his head. He hoped it would work.

“Keep me in the loop about Sonny’s hand.” Jason said over his shoulder as he and Ray neared the door to exit the team room first. The rest followed on their heels.

****

**SEAL TEAM WEEK 2020**

**Clay’s Apartment**

In the end, Brock had to take out his lockpick set to gain access to Clay’s apartment. He’d tried knocking, without success. The fact that Clay’s car was parked outside told him their youngster was inside. Brock opened the door and Cerb pushed past him and rushed inside. He shook his head and closed the door behind him. He grinned when he heard a yelp and then some interesting swear words from Clay’s room knowing that Cerb had woken up their teammate and that Clay wasn’t impressed.

He made his way deeper into the apartment and headed to the kitchen. He switched on the kettle and pulled down two mugs from the cupboard. He took Cerb’s bowl as well, filled it with water and placed it down for the pup to drink. Brock made the coffee in silence before he took both mugs and carried them to the large couch. He placed one on the table and took his as he sat down. He didn’t have to wait for long before first Cerberus and then Clay appeared from the room. He smiled as his pup grinned at him, while Clay on the other hand scowled at him.

“There’s coffee.”

Clay scratched his stomach, rubbed his hand over his face, and then stumbled towards the couch. He flopped down next to Brock and looked at him bleary eyed. “What are you doing here?” His voice was gruff from sleep.

“Cerberus was bored.” Brock took a sip of his coffee.

“Take him to the park.”

“He wants to play with you.” Brock smiled as Cerberus chose to dump one of his toys in Clay’s lap.

Clay huffed. He was in no condition to play with Cerb, but just looking at the soulful eyes that stared right at him, made him reach for the chew toy and tossed it to the other side of the room. The dog raced after it.

“You look a bit rough around the edges.”

Clay snorted. “Had drinks with Sonny.”

“Never a good idea.”

Clay grunted. “Remind me of that next…” He stopped talking and got to his feet. There wasn’t going to be a next time. “I’m going back to bed. Since you let yourself in, you can let yourself out.”

Brock arched his brow. He had an idea about what Clay wanted to say, but the fact that the youngster cut himself off made him well aware of the fact that Clay indeed planned on not being with them anymore. He wondered what Ash had told Clay.

“I’m comfortable right here, thanks!” He grinned as he reached for the remote and switched on Clay’s TV. He had to smile again when he heard Clay mumble something and then a thud as Clay landed on his bed. It seemed he wasn’t going to get Clay to talk to him, but at least he could keep an eye on the younger man.

As he watched one or another program, an idea formed in his head. Brock reached for his phone. He had an idea on how to get Clay to see how much he’d brought to the team, but he was going to need Davis’ help. When she answered her phone, Brock explained to her in hushed tones what he needed. He was grateful that she didn’t ask too many questions. He would explain to her later. Next, he fired of a text to the rest of the team and then opened the notes on his phone and started to type out some things.

****

**SEAL TEAM WEEK 2020**

**Unnamed Bar**

Jason leaned back in the chair and glared at the older man across from him. He hated coming to this man, but if there was one person who would know about Ash Spenser then it was this washed out Intel officer who got kicked out of the Navy for unsavory behavior. And that was putting it the nice way. “Don’t try and bullshit me, Craig. You know me better than that. Tell me what you know, and then we’ll be on our way.”

The man looked at Jason wish a scowl. “What, no threat of physical violence?”

“You know that’s a given. Why should I waste my breath in mentioning it?”

Craig rested his arms on the tabletop. “I don’t like you, Hayes.”

“The feeling is mutual,” Jason responded with a smile.

Ray rose to his feet. “He doesn’t know anything, Jace. Let’s go.”

Jason regard Ray and then nodded. “You’re right, he doesn’t.” He pressed down on his hands to stand up. Craig’s hand encircled his wrist.

“Wait.”

Jason cocked his head. “Talk.”

“You’ve sprung a leak.”

Jason frowned. That’s not why he came to talk to the disgraced man, but he also knew better than to interrupt. He sat and listened quietly.

“Ash Spenser knows what happened in Saudi Arabia. He already wrote a whole chapter about it for his new book. On that mission, and on a few others to be exact.”

Jason didn’t respond. He had to wait the slimy man out.

“Brags that he got a firsthand account from a SEAL that was there.”

“Son of a bitch!” Jason exploded.

Ray pulled Jason down and he glared at Craig. “Are you saying Ash is alleging his son is feeding him info on classified missions?” He didn’t even bother asking how the man knew about what had happened in Saudi Arabia himself.

Craig nodded.

“Where is he getting his info from?” Ray managed to ask.

“That’s going to cost you.”

Jason shook his head. “You want to walk out here with your arms still in their sockets, or do you want to carry them home in your mouth?”

Craig visually blanched at the words. “Don’t know his name, but he’s on Alpha team’s support team. Has a big mouth, doesn’t think much of the younger Spenser.”

“Now was that so difficult?” Jason tapped his fingers on the table. “Where’s Ash staying?”

“You leave me alone then?”

“No, but you’ll walk out here in one piece.”

“I can live with that.” He swallowed. He reached into his pocket and took out a pen. On a napkin he wrote down an address and pushed it to Jason. “He’ll be leaving tomorrow to start promoting his new book.”

Jason took the offered napkin, read the address and dunked it into his nearly empty glass. He looked on as it soaked up the drink. He rose to his feet. “See you around, Craig.” He didn’t wait for a response but headed out of the bar with Ray on his heels.

****

**SEAL TEAM WEEK 2020**

Ray only spoke up again when both of them sat in Jason’s truck. “He’s trying to get Clay kicked off the teams.”

“No, it’s worse than that. He’s trying to ruin Clay’s life. The moment he opens his mouth on TV and says he got intel from a SEAL that was there, every cake eater is going to go for Clay. They will crucify him without blinking an eye.” Jason slammed his fist against the steering wheel.

“We need to inform Harrington and Blackburn.”

“Agreed. We need to find out who the fucking leak is, get it plugged up, and get the team to confront Ash. I want a word with him, but I’m also going to make sure he’s getting burned for this. He will never in his life mess with Clay again.”

“One hundred percent in agreement with you there, brother.” Ray wondered if he’d be able to keep Ash alive between Sonny and Jason. He had a feeling that not even Trent was going to help him in that one.

****

**SEAL TEAM WEEK 2020**

**Naval Base: Harrington’s Office**

Captain Harrington and Blackburn looked at the two men that stood before them.

“You sure about this?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Okay. I’ll contact NCIS and we’ll deal with this.”

“What about Ash?”

Harrington glanced at his Lieutenant Commander. “He’s a civilian, nothing much we can do about him. I’ll inform NCIS about his involvement.” He had a feeling that JAG might get it right to charge Ash and their leak (when they found out who it was) in a military court. When found guilty, their sentences should be much heavier than in a civilian court.

Jason nodded. He didn’t ask any other questions, making sure that he kept command out of the line of fire when they went after Ash. No one messed with their kid, not even his so-called father.

“Dismissed,” Harrington turned to face the man next to him and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bravo 1 and 2 move to the door. “Hayes,” he called out. He waited for the man to come to a halt before he spoke up again. “Be careful.”

“Roger that, Sir.”

“I hope they’re not going to kill him.” Harrington watched Blackburn.

Eric shook his head. “They would’ve done it already if they wanted him dead. I’m not saying he won’t get injured, but he’ll live.”

For a long time, Harrington stared at his office wall. He then turned and reached for his phone. “We’ve got a leak to plug.”

****

**SEAL TEAM WEEK 2020**

**Clay’s Apartment Complex**

Jason and Ray met up with Trent and Sonny outside Clay’s apartment.

“You read Brock’s text?” Trent asked as he looked at where Jason examined Sonny’s hand that now sported a very neon green cast. He grinned at the sight. The Texan alleged that it brought out the color of his eyes. Trent also knew that all the ladies would notice the cast first, and that was the main reason Sonny went for the ridiculous color.

“Six weeks?” Jason asked as the stared at Trent.

Trent nodded.

Jason punched Sonny in the arm. “You’ll be running hills for the same period of time.”

“But…” Sony tried to argue, but the look Jason gave him, made him remain quiet. He merely nodded in agreement.

“As for Brock’s text, yes, I did read it. Decent plan.” Jason glanced over at Ray. His best friend was busy on the phone making more arrangements for the plan Brock put in place to work.

“Are we going up?” Sonny indicated to Clay’s apartment.

“No, there’s something Ray and I need to talk to you about, and I don’t want you to go and bust your other hand up as well. I also don’t want Clay to know about it. Not yet in any case.”

“You found something.” Trent made it a statement.

“More than what we bargained on,” Ray responded as he ended his call. “Davis and Mandy both came through. Beau and his team will also be there. Also spoke to Full Metal, Alpha team will join us.”

“How are we going to get Clay there?”

“I’ll get Derek to bring him in.” Jason answered Sonny’s question. He looked down when his phone pinged in his hand. He opened the text. “Brock’s on his way down. He says Clay is sleeping again.”

“He’s a fucking lightweight.” Sonny grinned.

Trent grinned, and Ray shook his head.

Jason looked at Sonny. “You ever do that to him again, I’ll kick your ass. At least have Trent on standby to check for alcohol poisoning.”

“I know how to check for that.”

Jason sighed. “Yes, of course you do.” He tapped Sonny on the chest. “Not again, not soon in any case.”

“I can’t promise that.”

Jason opened his mouth and closed it again. Sonny was right and if they told Clay what they found out; more alcohol would be involved. “Next time we’re all there.”

“Roger that.”

“Brock’s coming,” Ray alerted them.

The team turned and waited for their K9 handler to join them.

“Where’s Cerb?”

“Cuddled up with Clay. I’ll collect him later. Cerb will get Clay out of the apartment and get him to take him for a run. It will do both of them good.”

Jason nodded. Having Cerb babysitting their kid was the best solution. He looked around at his team and then pinned Sonny with a hard stare. “We are in an open area, filled with civilians. We also have a teammate in the apartments at our back, which I would like to keep in the dark about this for as long as possible. I would’ve loved to take all of you to a more secure place and share this intel with you, but we don’t have time for this. Therefore, Sonny, you will not go off the rails by hitting, causing any damage to any property around here, or yell so hard that Clay comes running down those stairs. That goes for you as well, Trent.”

Jason’s tone told both men, and Brock that what Jason and Ray found out was more serious than what they thought. All three men nodded in agreement, even if Brock wasn’t included in that warning.

Jason turned his attention to Ray, took a deep breath when his second nodded and proceed to tell them what they learned. Silence settled around them when he stopped talking.

“Who’s the leak?” Brock asked as Trent at the same time took hold of Sonny and pressed him against this chest holding him tight. They all could see the way Sonny trembled in Trent’s arms. Brock reached out and placed a supporting hand on Sonny’s bicep.

“How can his father hate him so much?” Sonny moved out of Trent’s embrace. His frame still shook, and his eyes were filled with rage, but other than that he was extremely calm.

“That’s a question only Ash can answer, but that’s not an answer Clay will ever hear. Ash will never set foot near Clay again. Ever.” Jason’s words brought finality to the matter. They would all make sure Clay never had to deal with his father again.

“You sure we can’t kill him?”

“Clay will never forgive us, and we all end up in prison. No, we can’t kill him, but we’re going to send him to jail for a long time.”

“He doesn’t fall under the military anymore.”

“No, but the crimes he committed, do.” Jason looked at his team. “We know where Ash is staying, we’ll be paying him a visit tonight.”

“What about the kid?” Sonny looked up to Clay’s apartment.

“Already taken care of. Spoke to Naima, she’ll phone him in a couple of hours and ask him to babysit Jameelah and JR for us.”

“Good idea.” Sonny knew that Clay loved spending time with Ray’s kids. He always had as much fun as they did.

“What else do you need to do for your plan tomorrow, Brock?”

“Have to get the AAR’s from Davis, make enough copies for everyone, see if there’s any drone footage we could use.”

“That sounds too much like work,” Sonny groaned.

“And that’s exactly why you’re going to help me out.”

“But my hand.” Sonny tried to mimic Clay’s puppy dog eyes.

“Not working, Sonny. You’re helping Brock so that I know where you are. We can all gather at my house at 2000 and leave from there.”

“How do we know he’s going to be there?”

Jason grinned, but there was nothing funny about the expression. “Spoke to someone, his plans for the evening will be cancelled at the last moment. He’ll be there.”

“Let’s get going. See you all later.” Jason looked at each of his team. A silent promise went through all of them, Ash Spenser was going to pay for what he did to their youngest brother.

****

**SEAL TEAM WEEK 2020**

**Perry Household**

Clay closed his eyes as JR finally closed his own eyes and settled down. The youngster didn’t want to go to bed and Clay had a tough time getting him to settle down. Although he felt better after he took Cerberus to the park and ran with the dog, he still had the lingering touches of a hangover.

Clay opened his eyes as Jameelah flopped herself down on his other side. “You found the story you want me to read to you?”

The young girl held the book close to her chest. “Uncle Clay?”

“Yes, princess?”

“Why are you sad?”

“Why do you say I’m sad, puppet?”

“Because of your eyes.”

He frowned at the explanation. “My eyes?”

Jameelah nodded. “They don’t sparkle tonight.”

Clay found himself smiling. “I’m just a bit tired, that’s all.” He didn’t tell her he wasn’t sad. He had never lied to her, and he wasn’t going to do it now.

“Did you go drinking with uncle Sonny?”

Clay burst out laughing and then cringed as RJ moaned against him. He looked own and sighed in relief when he found the youngster still asleep. “And what do you know about drinking, Jameelah?”

The little girl shrugged. “Mummy says Uncle Sonny does it too much, but that since you’re with them, he’s been better.”Her words made his heart ache and he had no words. He knew he was going to miss his brothers, but the little girl next to him – her, and her brother held an extra special place in his heart. But he couldn’t remain. He wasn’t good enough to watch their six, he realized it now. It really was the best thing he could do.

“What story did you bring me?” Clay changed the topic.

“This one.” She held out the book to him.

“The Princess and the pea,” Clay read the title. “Good choice.” He pulled her closer to his side and opened the book. As she settled next to her, he started reading out loud.


	2. Part II

**Part II**

**Chesapeake Motel**

Jason made himself comfortable in the single chair set up next to the small table and stretched his legs out. The rest of the guys all took up different places in the room and then they settled in and waited.

Although they all wanted nothing more than to beat the crap out of Ash Spenser, they couldn’t do it for two reasons. One, they would all be kicked out of the SEALs, and two, but also more importantly, Clay wouldn’t want them to do it. And at this stage, what Clay wanted was more important than anything else.

It had taken them an extremely long time to convince Sonny not to maim Ash for life. In the end, he’d finally agreed. However, Sonny had made it crystal clear that he was suffering from a bout of myoclonus, and as he had no control over the involuntary spasm in his arms, he couldn’t guarantee that his fists might go flying around, and if Ash got hit, it really wasn’t his fault.

The team had all looked at Sonny. They didn’t even know he knew the term myoclonus, but it was a good one, and Jason found himself nodding his head. He really hoped that at least Sonny would get a shot in.

Brock, who stood next to the window of the room looked out. “Incoming.” He readied himself, and Trent moved to the opposite side of the door. They had no idea if Ash had any weapons on him and they would make sure that if he was armed that they disarmed him quickly.

The moment Ash opened the door, Brock and Trent moved in and grabbed him and pushed him to the floor. Ash tried to fight, but his punches were blocked, and his kicks avoided. They thoroughly searched the older man before they dragged him up by his arms and made him stand in the middle of the room.

“He’s clean, Boss,” Trent reported.

“What is the fucking meaning of this!” Ash exploded as he looked at the group of men that surrounded him. His eyes landed on the leader and he smirked.

“Master Chief Hayes, I could say what an honor, but that would be a lie. Tell me, what do you want?”

“We came to give you some advice.” Jason stayed seated.

“Advice? From you?” Ash rolled his eyes. “I can’t think of anything that I need your advice on, Master Chief.”

“No? Really?” Jason slowly rose to his feet. “You remember going through BUDs, Ash? Remember how you had to rely on your buddy in front of you, behind you, and the two on either side of you to get things done? Remember how quickly you found out that you couldn’t go through BUDs without your team? I mean, that’s why the teams are so close, they are the guys that keep you alive, they are your family.”

“What are you getting at Hayes?”

“How can you in one breath say you’re a team guy, but in the same breath be such a fucking bastard towards your only son?”

“Ah, so this is what everything is about. Poor Clay. Can’t fight his own battles? Had to go and cry to his team lead that he had some words with his dad.” Ash shook his head.

“Clay didn’t come and cry to me, and he doesn’t know we’re here.”

“If he didn’t send you, then why are you here? Are you really so blind as to see that he is not a good fit for your team? He’s an average SEAL at most, nothing spectacular about him.”

“You’ve got no fucking clue, have you?” Sonny had finally moved away from where he’d taken a seat on the bed. He shook his head when Ray moved towards him. He wasn’t planning on hitting Ash, not yet, in any case.

“Of what?” Ash sneered. He’d heard about Sonny Quinn. The man was all brawn and no brains.

Before Sonny could respond, Brock beat him to it. “You are aware of the different records on the o-course, right?”

“Yeah, of course. Set a few of them myself,” Ash responded with pride.

“And when was the last time you had a look at them?”

Ash shrugged. “Being unfairly PNG’d means I don’t have access to information like that. Once in a while, someone would tell me about a record, but nothing much.” He looked at Jason. “I know you hold quite a few.”

“I don’t hold any. No one in this room holds any records.” Jason smirked. “But do you know who holds most of them?” Jason continued. He’d realized what Brock was doing and took it further.

Ash cocked his head. “Why is this of such importance?”

“Because _your_ son holds the most records. The only ones he’s not holding, were set by Adam.” Jason moved closer.

Ash remained silent.

“Speechless?” Jason stood toe to toe with the older man. “Tell me, why would you tell your son that it was his fault that Adam died? Just how do _you_ know what happened during that op?”

“It’s the truth. I mean, he did freeze. If he’d been faster, he could’ve shot that insurgent without the man triggering the S-Vest.”

Jason saw Sonny moved and stepped in front of him. He shook his head.

“Did he tell you that he’d frozen?”

“He might have. Can’t remember.” Ash shrugged.

Sonny burst out laughing. “Do you want us to believe that Clay told you that?”

Ash decided it was best to keep quiet.

“Did you know Clay took a 7.62 round to his chest plate minutes after the team got trapped, and shot at like fish in a barrel?” Jason didn’t give him a chance to respond. “Did you know that he didn’t breathe for minutes as the team had to first deal with a sniper before they could get him to safety and check him out. That during that mad minute they all thought that he was dead?” Jason took a steady breath.

“You also didn’t know that despite having taken that round to the chest, he continued to operate. Even after Adam got killed Clay still helped to come up with a plan to rescue the students trapped at the university. He then commandeered a truck and went back to where they had to leave Adam’s body to retrieve it.”

“Why are you telling this to me?”

Jason growled. “Because you thinking that Clay is a disgrace to the brotherhood, or that he’s not worthy of being a SEAL is not true.”

“He’s a sniffling brat, who doesn’t belong on the teams. There are SEALS in the support teams that are much more capable than him. They deserve to be given a chance in DEVGRU. Not him.”

Jason cocked his head. Seems that whoever the leak was, was not there to only spread stories.

“Yeah, like who?” Sonny crossed his arms. He glared at Ash. “I mean, you being PNG’d doesn’t give you much information on the active SEALS, never mind who is good enough for DEVGRU or not. How would you then know of such an _unfortunate_ SEAL?”

“I hear stories.”

Trent rolled his eyes. “And you love gathering stories, don’t you?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Of course, you don’t.” Jason shook his head. “We’ve come to warn you, Ash. And you need to remember, this is your only warning.” He tapped with his finger against Ash’s chest.

“Stay away from Clay. He doesn’t need you in his life.”

Ash huffed. “Or what, going to beat me up?”

“Beat you up?” Jason smirked. “That’s an idea, why didn’t I think about that?” He glared at Ash. “No, I will not come and beat you up, but if you think that being PNG’d on base is bad, wait and see what I can do, and what I’m willing to do.”

“You’re willing to risk your career for Clay?” Ash asked in disbelief.

“That’s what you don’t understand, Ash. All of us here, are willing to risk our careers for Clay. And do you know why? Because he’s worth it. He’s one of the best young SEALS the Navy has ever seen. In about ten years, when he leads his own team, and I can promise you it will be that short a period of time, he will be the best SEAL in the history, while you, you will not even be remembered.”

“He will never erase my footsteps,” Ash seethed.

“You’re right, he won’t.” Ray looked at Ash. “He wouldn’t need to do that, because you yourself would’ve done it. You’re a poor excuse of a father. Your son is the most loyal, hardworking, all though cocky, young man, I’ve ever met. And it’s an honor for me, for all of us, to call him our brother. We will always have his six, lay our lives on the line for him, because he will do that for us in a heartbeat.”

“Amen,” Brock replied as Trent, Sonny, and Jason all nodded in agreement.

“Clay doesn’t need you in his life, he’s got us as his family, his brothers. As I said before, stay away from him. Not only for his sake, but for your own wellbeing. And since you’re such a selfish bastard, I think the second reason alone, will persuade you to do just that.” Jason reached out and lightly tapped Ash on the cheek. He smirked when Ash flinched, turned his back to the man and walked to the door.

“Don’t let us catch you around the base, Ash, you won’t like it when we do.” Ray stared that the man and shook his head. Without a further word he joined Jason at the door.

Sonny went toe to toe with the older Spenser. “Clay is the kid brother I never had. All he ever wants is to be accepted and to be told he matters. Something that you should’ve done since the day he was born. You failed the single most important job in your life. You’re the failure, you’re the disgrace. Not Clay. It will never be Clay.” Before anyone could stop Sonny, he punched Ash in the face.

Ash groaned. “I will have you arrested for assault and battering.”

Trent shook his head and took Sonny by the arm. “That myoclonus of yours acting up again? We’ll have to inform Doc.” He pushed Sonny towards Jason, who placed an arm around the large man’s shoulders, and then Trent took his stance in front of Clay’s father. “You will never have the chance again to patch up your relationship with your only son. You may not regret it now, but someday you will. Remember this, it’s not his fault, but your own.” He joined the rest of his teammates at the door.

Brock silently slipped in beside Ash and grinned when the man gave a small jump when he realized the SEAL stood next to him. “Any man can be a father. It takes someone special to be a dad.” Brock looked at Ash. “You will always only be Clay’s father.” Brock turned away and silently the group of five left Ash Spenser alone.

****

**SEAL TEAM WEEK 2020**

**Naval Base: The following morning**

Clay continued to stare at his boots as the conversation around him continued. Derek had given him a lift to the base after they’d received a text to inform them there was some sort of training they all had to attend.

He’d seen Captain Harrington when they entered the base and he’d approached the man but was told that he’d better be in the training or face the consequences. Clay had nodded his head and followed Derek.

Clay had a quick look around for Bravo team but didn’t spot them. At first, he wanted to be upset, but then he mentally slapped himself. He had to stop looking for them, being with them. He wasn’t part of them, the sooner he realized it, the better.

“There you are, Goldilocks, we’ve been looking all over the base for you.” Sonny’s voice had bellowed through the large room and Clay watched as Bravo team made their way over. His jaw dropped when the men from Charlie’s support team stood up to make space for them to sit together. Clay accepted the back slaps as they filed past him to take their seats. He groaned when Cerberus jumped on him and licked him in the face. The team chuckled and Clay found himself smiling as well.

“What happened to your hand?” Clay asked in concern when he noticed the neon green cast on Sonny’s hand.

“Fashion statement,” Sonny replied with a grin. “Got you a bright pink one, princess.”

“You know pink is not my color, Sonny. It clashes with my skin color,” Clay bantered back.

It was Sonny’s turn to laugh as he slapped Clay once again on the back, although a bit awkward as he did it with the left hand.

“Seriously, you okay?”

Sonny nodded. “I’m okay, just had a quick and dirty fight with a cage.”

“The cage won?”

Sonny nodded. He wanted to reply, when Harrington stepped forward, and the room quieted down. “Command has decided that there needs to be more interdepartmental training between the different squadrons in the platoons. As we all know each team has its own way of doing things.”

“Like following the rule book to the letter,” Jason mumbled under his breath, just hard enough for the men around him to hear. Everyone who heard him knew to whom he was referring to.

“But sometimes we all need to take a step back and look at things from a different perspective. And the scenarios we’re going to discuss here today, will show us just how important it was to think outside of the box, without compromising your own life, your team’s life and successfully completing the mission. For this training today, we’re going to use the AARs specifically after we familiarized ourselves with the mission objective and the initial plan prepared for the successful completion of that mission.”

Clay heard a few men groaned and he frowned. He would love to have access to other team’s AAR’s but that didn’t happen very often.

“Bravo team has been selected for this first training session. Reynolds.” Harrington nodded at the man in question and moved to the side.

Clay frowned. “Did you know about this?” he whispered to Sonny.

Sonny grunted in response, and Clay frowned again. Why wasn’t he told? Hell, when did Brock have time to set this up? The man was at his place for a couple of hours, and then he had a date with a new girl. If Brock had told him, he would’ve helped. Clay’s doubts surfaced again. He looked down at his hands as they trembled slightly. His chest felt tight and he tried to rub it with his hand. Cerberus, who still sat on his lap, turned and looked at him. He gave a small whine and lapped at Clay’s hand. Clay curled his fingers around Cerb’s coat and held on tight. He didn’t see the concerned look that passed between Sonny and Trent.

Clay managed to take a few deep breaths and with Cerb’s coat between his fingers, he calmed himself down enough to follow what Brock said. His teammate was explaining one of the first missions Clay went on with Bravo team. A simple mission had ended up in a near clusterfuck, but they made it out safely in the end. He let his thoughts drift, but he got pulled back to the present when someone mentioned his name. Clay looked around.

“How did Clay know that would work?” It was one of the SEALs in Charlie’s support team that posed the question.

“Because he thought out of the box,” Brock explained. He continued to go through the AAR with the group where Clay had explained in detail what he’d done, why he’d done it and how.

A few murmurs went up around him and Clay shuffled as low as possible with a large dog on your lap.

After Brock answered a few questions, he moved on to the next mission, and Clay grunted when he heard which one it was. They’d been pinned down in a small town in some country and the intel they’d received had turned out to be incorrect. They’d been trapped in a house smaller than his apartment with no way out when he’d remembered reading something about the region and he’d quickly scrambled around, found what he’d been looking for and had gotten the team out of a tight situation. It was also the mission he had gotten his first concussion with the team, and even now things were still a bit scrambled in his head.

“Wait, are you saying this was Spenser again that saved Bravo team’s bacon?”

“Yes,” the team answered as one.

Those men seated behind Clay leaned forward and they all slapped him on the back. A few whistles also sounded through the hall.

“No poaching, he’s ours, hands off.” Sonny had leaned backwards and tried to stop the men slapping Clay. They all laughed at his antics.

Clay pulled Sonny back as he blushed. So many emotions soared threw him, most of them didn’t make sense. He couldn’t understand why Bravo team wanted to keep him? He wasn’t worth it. He wasn’t good enough.

This second mission discussed brought more questions, more debates, but Clay didn’t hear any of it as he shut down. He was in conflict with himself, in conflict with what Brock, what the rest of the team thought of him. What Ash thought of him. When he was a child, he only ever wanted to make Ash proud. Unfortunately, he’d never managed that. It pained him still to this day. He would’ve given everything he had in life, to only hear Ash say he was proud of him.

A heated conversation and Cerberus growling on his lap brought him back out of his musings. It seemed that one of Alpha teams’ support members had made a comment that didn’t go down well with those around him.

“Listen you fucking pea brain, if it wasn’t for Spenser, Bravo team would’ve died. Don’t you get that? You always run your mouth about him, not once do you have a good word to say about him.”

“If it wasn’t for him, Master Chief Siever would still be alive, or have you all forgotten about the fact that he froze and that Siever died because of that. And that’s not all he’s done wrong. What about their last mission? He’s responsible for the death of an innocent child!”

Clay’s breath hitched as Sonny growled and jumped to his feet. He tried to grab hold of Sonny’s sleeve, but the man moved too quickly, and the only thing Clay caught was air. He was aware that more than one SEAL tried to get hold of Sonny, tried to stop him from killing the man who uttered those words, but Sonny plowed through everyone as he moved forward.

Clay could only watch as Sonny reached the man. Finally, Clay recognized him. Joe Pate. He was about three years older than Clay and had been with him and Brian at SEAL Team 3. He had been really loathsome towards Clay, but Clay had ignored him. Clay had stayed out of Pate’s way and didn’t interact with him, unless they were on a mission together. There were many SEALS that hated him because of who he was related to. Clay watched in slow motion as Sonny picked up the younger man clear off the floor by his shirt and rammed him into the wall behind him. Sonny lashed out with his left hand, and the uppercut made the man’s head snap back and bounce off the wall.

“Senior Petty Officer Sonny Quinn, stand down,” Harrington’s voice bellowed through the large space.

At the same time, Trent and Jason had reached Sonny, and managed to pull him back. Pate’s legs buckled and he slid to the floor.

Sonny froze and stood between Trent and Jason breathing hard. He ignored both men, instead he focused his full attention on Pate. “You’re the one giving Ash Spenser the info on the missions.”

Pate rubbed the back of his head and at the same time he wiped the blood from his split lip. His jaw throbbed and the fact that he couldn’t open his mouth told him it was broken. He glared at Sonny.

“He fucking you?” Sonny growled out his question and looked on as the man turned red in his face and a tiny vein pulsated in his temple.

“Shut your mouth,” Pate hissed through his teeth.

“Or what?” Sonny shook Trent and Jason’s hands off his shoulders but remained where he stood. He was aware of men moving towards them, but he ignored it all. “Ash Spenser is a fucking douche bag. He’s been PNG’d by the brotherhood for a fucking reason.”

“No, he was PNG’d because they were jealous.”

Sonny snorted. “Of what?” He lifted his hand. “You know what, don’t answer that. I don’t want to know.” He took a step back. “I still want to know why you have such a case of hero worship for that man? A man that broke every code set by the SEALs.”

“Because he’s my father!” Pate ignored his throbbing jaw as he yelled. A stunned silence settled over the room.

It was the sound of retching that disturbed the silence. Sonny, Trent and Jason turned as one.

“Clay!” Sonny yelled as he pushed back the masses of men that stood around them to get to his teammate. He couldn’t believe what that prick had told them, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. He had to help his friend first.

It was Ray who reached Clay first and placed a hand on his back as Clay still emptied his stomach. He could feel the tremors that travelled through Clay’s body. He looked up when Sonny stopped at his right-hand side and Trent at his left. Ray moved back and watched as Sonny took over rubbing Clay’s back while Trent whispered in his ear. Clay had stopped retching but stayed hunched over with his hands on his knees. A bottle of water appeared and was handed to Clay to rinse his mouth.

Ray looked around and noticed that their own support team has pulled around them, creating a barrier between them and the rest of the teams in the room. Alpha team stood around the ass whose name Ray didn’t even know, and they looked downright hostile towards him.

Ray looked on as Harrington and Blackburn, with two other men made their way to where Alpha team stood. As he watched the two men took out what appeared to be credentials of some sort and Ray realized that they had to be the NCIS agents. He smiled as they turned the man around and cuffed his hands behind his back. He was fighting their hold over him but settled down when Full Metal stepped up and grabbed him by the neck. Ray could see how the blood drained from the man’s face as whatever the big man told him made him blanch. The whole room turned their backs on the man as he was led out by the agents.

Ray saw Harrington talking to Blackburn before he also left. Blackburn walked over to them and took his place next to Jason.

“You can leave the base when Spenser’s feeling better. NCIS will contact you if needed,” he addressed the group.

Jason nodded and moved towards Eric. “I want to know everything about Pate, Eric.”

Blackburn regarded the man in front of him. “I’ll get it to you.”

“Thank you. If NCIS comes knocking, they’ll find us at my home.”

“Take care of Spenser.” Eric took a final look at the group of men before he exited the room. It didn’t surprise him to find it empty. Alpha team would’ve made sure that no one got to gawk at Spenser during this uncomfortable situation.

“Clay?” Jason stepped up and stopped next to their rookie. Clay sat on a chair with his hands in his hair. Jason placed his hand on Clay’s shoulder. “Let’s get you out of here.” He looked at Trent to see if there would be any objection, but Trent remained silent as Clay rose to his feet.

“I’m sorry,” Clay mumbled as he tried to push pass the men of Bravo.

Sonny grabbed him by the arm and held him back. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for, Clay. What happened here, sucks, but it’s not on you. You’re not alone, we’ve got you.” Without hesitating, he pulled Clay against his chest. He locked eyes with Jason, and they shined with fury.

****

**SEAL TEAM WEEK 2020**

**Hayes Household**

Since Alana’s death, cleaning house hadn’t been one of the top priorities for Jason of things to do. When he opened the front door and led the team inside, he wanted to cringe for a moment, but then relaxed. None of them would mind the untidy place, well, except maybe Trent, but their medic would have to deal with it.

“I’ll get the beer,” Jason called over his shoulder as he made his way through to his kitchen. When he turned Brock stood at his heels. Jason arched an eyebrow in surprise. Of all the guys that might follow him, he’d never suspected it would be Brock to do just that.

“Can we kill Ash now, Boss?” Brock inquired with a straight face.

“Think you’ll have to take a number, Brock.” Jason passed him three beers and took the other three.

“I thought that maybe you and I could go now and get a head start, you know, while Sonny and Trent concentrated on Clay and wouldn’t realize that we’re missing.”

Jason smiled. “Let’s focus on Clay first.” He slapped Brock on the shoulder and the two men made their way back to the rest of the team.

Jason stood before Clay and held out the beer. “Here you go, Kid.”

Clay took the bottle wordlessly, but instead of drinking it, he played with the label.

The team looked at one another, they had no idea on how to handle this situation, or even what to say. They were stunned when Clay was the one to break the silence.

“When Adam and I had to go and do Brian’s notification, Adam told me that one day I would realize that the teams are my real family.” Clay sorted, “Seems, he was correct, just don’t think he meant it quite so literally.”

“Do you know that asshat?” Sonny took the full bottle of beer from Clay’s hands and took a swig from it.

Clay nodded. “Joe Pate. He was part of Team 3 when Brian and I joined. Didn’t have much to do with him. He didn’t seem to like me. That didn’t bother me, by that time, I was used to people judging me on my last name.” Clay lowered his head in his hands. “Does he hate me because I’m known as Ash’s son and he’s not? Because if that’s the reason, he can take the title. I don’t want it. I never wanted it.” Clay looked up. “And why the hell did NCIS take him away?”

Jason groaned. Clay was still in the dark over what Ash had done, and what role Pate played in this whole mess. It was time that they came clean with what they knew. He looked at Ray and when his 2IC nodded Jason took a seat next to Clay and cleared his throat.

“We know about your plans not to re-enlist.”

Clay lowered his head again. “I’m not good enough, I will get you all killed. I don’t deserve to be a Tier One operator.”

“No!” Sonny who sat on Clay’s other side shook his brother hard. “That’s your fucking father talking, not you.”

Clay frowned and Sonny sighed. “You told me.”

Clay nodded slowly. “That’s why you got me drunk.”

“I had to know what’s eating you, Gilbert Grape.”

Another frown appeared on Clay’s face. “Is that from a movie?”

The team groaned. “You’re watching it.” Sonny jabbed his finger in Clay’s side.

Clay turned serious. “My fath…, Ash is right. I don’t belong on the teams. I am a disgrace to the brotherhood. I did get Adam killed.”

Ray placed a hand on Clay’s shoulder and waited until the younger man looked at him, before he continued. “I should’ve talked to you more when we spoke on the flight home, instead of brushing away your words. But I want to tell you something. You did not slow us down. You were not the reason why we were close to that S-Vest. You are not the reason why Adam returned home in a box. I will repeat to you what I did tell you then. It was Adam’s time. Nothing would’ve changed that.” Ray squeezed Clay’s shoulder.

“And as for what Adam did, well, that’s what makes a hero. Adam sacrificed himself to make sure the rest of us survived and completed the mission. But, in the same breath, it doesn’t give you the right to take unnecessary risks in order for us to be successful in our missions. We are first and foremost a team. We are there for one another, we will always be there for one another.”

“I understand.” Clay leaned back against the couch. He watched his teammates around him. The tension in their shoulders told him there was more. “What are you not telling me, why did NCIS take Pate? Does it have to do with Ash?”

“We went to have a chat with Ash after we realized what he’d told you.” Trent picked up the story. “And before you ask, yes, he is alive.”

“Unfortunately,” Sonny mumbled under his breath.

Clay shook his head. “I don’t want you to fight with him, Sonny. I’m not worth your career.”

“Let’s agree to disagree on that point, Pretty Boy.”

Clay rolled his eyes.

“Before we went to chat with Ash, we had to find out where he stayed. Myself and Ray contacted an old _friend_ , and got more intel than what we’d bargained for.”“What did he do?”

“I’m not sure if you know about his latest book?” Ray inquired.

“Yes, he told me what he was writing about. Wanted me to read the manuscript and give my input.”

“Did you see the manuscript?” Jason asked.

Clay shook his head.

“From the intel we got, it seems that he’s writing about missions that were done by the teams. The problem is that those missions are still classified,” Jason continued.

“What missions?” Clay asked with a sinking feeling to his stomach.

“Missions we undertook. Like the one in Saudi Arabia with the aqueduct.”

“Where did he get that intel?” Clay blanched even as he asked the question. The nauseous feeling of earlier returned. He shook his head. “I didn’t, I promise, I never told him about any of the missions we went on, Boss. I swear.”

“Easy, Clay. We know. We were informed about the leak in the teams. We told Harrington and Blackburn and they contacted NCIS.” Jason tried to calm his youngest brother down.

“It would’ve ruined my career.” Clay sounded devastated. “No one would’ve believed me if I said it wasn’t me.”

“That’s not going to happen anymore.” Sonny grinned.

For a moment Clay didn’t follow, but then he connected the final dots. “Pate.”

Jason nodded.

Clay looked at Brock. “That’s what the training was about, flushing him out?” He wasn’t sure how, but to him it made sense.

“No,” Brock shook his head. “Catching Pate was a bonus, but the training was for you.”

“I don’t understand,” Clay responded softly.

“To show you what an important role you play on our team. You’re crucial to our success in missions, more importantly, to our survival in the field. The AARs we discussed today, those were only a few where you got us out of a sticky situation. A few where you came up with an alternative, which ended in us saving lives, and bagging the HVTs that we were sent out to round up.”

“What about the girl?”

Sonny pulled Clay to his feet and held onto both his shoulders. “Only if you were Superman, would you’ve been able to save her. We, you, are only human. You did your best. You are not to blame. None of us are to blame.” Sonny placed his hand behind Clay’s neck and pulled his head so that it rested on his shoulder. “Got that?”

For a long time, Clay stood there with his head resting on his best friend’s shoulder. Finally, he nodded. “Got it.”

Sonny patted him on the back and let him go. He watched as each member of the team hugged Clay. They were more than a team. They were a family. They were _his_ family.

****

**SEAL TEAM WEEK 2020**

**Naval Base: Team Room**

**2 Weeks later**

Cerberus lifted his head when the door opened and before anyone else could move, he was on his feet and jumped against the man who stood in the door.

Clay grinned as he scratched Cerberus’ ears and moved deeper into the room.

“How did it go?” Brock asked as he ordered Cerb down. He raised his hands in surrender as his K9 partner glared at him.

Clay shrugged as he opened the fridge and took out a beer.

“Hope you’re not drinking alone, Blondie,” Sonny’s voice piped up from where he slept on the couch.

Clay sighed, went back into the fridge and removed another five beers. He proceeded to hand them out to everyone before he took his seat at Sonny’s feet.

“And?” Jason asked impatiently. JAG had called Clay in to talk to him, and although they all offered to go with him, Clay had decided that it was something he had needed to do on his own.

Clay’s shoulders sagged. “If we’re done talking here, can we never talk about it again, please?”

Sonny cringed. Sounded that things didn’t go well at all. “Whatever you need.” He made the promise on behalf of the team. He knew none of them would object. He also wondered if Jason would object if he got the kid drunk again. Sonny made a mental note to ask.

“Well, it seems that I indeed have an older half-brother.” Clay snorted.

“Ash finally admitted it?”

“No, DNA proved it.” Clay looked at his brothers. “Seems like Pate’s mother was a one-night stand. One that Ash couldn’t even remember.”

“He really didn’t know?”

Clay shook his head. “He’d met up with Joe at a book signing a few months back and saw that he could use Pate to get the information he needed. Pate, on the other hand, thought that because Ash gave him the time of day, even spent time with him, inquiring about his life in the teams, and the missions he went on, that Ash was aware of their relationship, and thought he could benefit from it. Especially if it became known that he was Ash’s son. He suffered from delusional grandeur.”

“How long did Pate know he was Ash’s son?” Brock inquired.

“His mother told him when he entered BUDs.”

“That’s harsh,” Trent said. “What?” He asked when Sonny glared at him.

“Are you sympathizing with him?”

“No, it’s a mere observation.”

“Good.” Sonny turned his attention back to his friend. “What about the book, the charges?”

“The prosecutor told me that the subpoenas finally came through, and they received a copy of the manuscript. Ash discussed four classified missions in two chapters, including the mission in Saudi Arabia.” Clay looked at his brothers. “First, they are charging Ash in a military court. Secondly, they are charging both Pate and Ash on various violations of the Espionage Act and are going to ask for the maximum sentence.”

Ray whistled. “That’s quite a number of years they are looking at.”

Clay nodded.

“How do you feel about it?” Brock knew Clay would have difficulty with something like that.

“I don’t know.” Clay shrugged. “I think I still need to process all of it.”

“That’s understandable.” Brock sighed. “Have you decided if you’re going to talk to Ash?”

“No, I’m not going to.” Clay crossed his arms. He was contacted by Ash’s lawyer with a request to come and see him. The request shook Clay hard, but he’d finally decided for his own piece of mind not to see Ash. He dragged his hands through his hair. “Can we stop talking about this?”

“Yeah, we can. But, if you ever need to talk to us, Clay, we’re here for you.” They’d made a lot of progress the past two weeks. They’d talked to Clay, went through AAR’s with him, got him to understand that not everything was in his control and that sometimes shit happened. Clay had also informed them the previous day that he would be re-enlisting at the end of his term. He wasn’t ready yet to give up on his brothers. To Bravo team that was the best news.

Clay smiled at Jason and nodded. “Thank you.”

Sonny raised his hand.

Jason sighed. “Yes, Sonny?”

“Can we go and get drunk now?”

Jason gazed at Clay. “That all right with you?”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

“Yes! I know just the place we can go. There’s this new strippers’ bar and from what I heard…” Sonny grinned from ear to ear.

“No, we’re not going to a stripper bar. We’re going to the Bulkhead where we know everyone, and I can keep an eye on the two of you.” Jason pushed Sonny and Clay towards the door as the rest of the team filed in behind him.

“You’re no fun, Boss.”

“You sound like my kids, Sonny. Keep it up and I’ll ground you like I do with them.”

“What? Did I say you’re no fun? No, sorry, Boss, I meant, you are the best boss out there! Let’s go to the Bulkhead, the beer is calling us.” Sonny laughed as he grabbed Clay around the shoulders and walked with him down the hall. 

He knew that this thing with Ash was long from being over. The media had already picked up on the story, luckily the brass had stepped up their game, and between them, and the JAG officers, Clay’s name and status as a Tier One operator had remained out of the press. They could only hope that it would remain that way. In the meantime, they would make sure that Clay was doing okay. It was the least they could do for their young brother.

**The End**


End file.
